Factors to increase the risk of Autism

by John Melnychuk

What happened to this boy K.?

My perception is this is a case of poisoning. The first clue is that K. was mostly well, apart from the deafness in the right ear. The family history of cancer is significant – it is an indication of a higher susceptibility particularly to MMR vaccine. (There are dozens of factors which increase the risk of autism – genetic history is a major issue and I am careful to gather as much information as possible about the pregnancy and extended family history in these types of cases. Different genetic inheritance yields children which are more susceptible to various types of vaccines. There are many ways for children to become autistic and there are many types and manifestations of autism according to the unfortunate combination of inherited and environmental factors).

It is very important to note that not all children will be negatively affected by vaccines, and not all autism is associated with vaccine injury, but vaccines are a factor in more than 80% of cases I see of true autism.

Vaccines are an important, but usually a secondary factor in cases of Pervasive Developmental Delay.
The second clue is the fact that he stopped breathing shortly after birth. He must have been blue at least for a short time in an episode of neonatal asphyxia. (Maybe from Hep B jab?)

The third clue is the wet stools from birth. This indicates that there was already some inflammatory activity and lack of development in the gut before any vaccines, except perhaps Hepatitis B vaccine which is routinely given shortly after birth in America. (I think this Hep. B is a major contributor to jaundice in newborns.) This digestive weakness shows that K. already had some susceptibility to vaccines and foods from birth. I speculate it was the antibiotics and other drugs that the mother received for the tooth extraction before she realized she was pregnant that contributed to this digestive problem in K.

The timeline is the fourth clue. Note that K. was observed as developing normally socially and with language to his first birthday. There is even video evidence of his normal ability and conduct. After MMR there was a slow, insidious onset of symptoms over approximately six months which resulted in loss of social interest, speech, and intolerance of foods. This is typical for MMR vaccine related autism.

The timeline here is quite typical. Several years ago the most common presentation would be of a child that was injured by MMR would have early normal development and then be affected by an MMR jab at 12 months. Most often a bit of fever or fussiness would come after the jab.
Tylenol was almost always given (which always compounded the severity of the injury – don’t get me started about Tylenol….) by 18 months speech and social interest would be lost and gut problems would appear. Pediatricians would typically stall the parents – “he’s just a late talker,” etc.
Diagnosis of autism or Pervasive Development Delay – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD – NOS) would come by age three or four depending on the severity of damage the child had sustained. (PDD - NOS would be a more common diagnosis where motor planning problems were more evident rather than where primarily speech and social deficits presented.)

These days the timeline is a bit different for children developing symptoms as a related to MMR injuries. Now for children where MMR is likely a factor, the onset generally comes later and the diagnosis comes earlier. What we see now is slightly atypical development at 15 to 18 months with loss of social interest and speech by 24 months. The prognosis for these children is better since their injury came later, is milder, and because diagnosis and treatment come earlier. The later onset and milder injury have likely arisen because thimerosal has recently been removed from MMR and many other, but not all childhood vaccines.

Thimerosal is one of many metals and chemicals commonly present in vaccines as stabilizers to extend shelf-life of the vial of vaccine. Thimerosal is more than 50% mercury by weight. The diagnosis comes earlier because Autism is a more popular diagnosis and pediatricians are very interested to make such a diagnosis even if the evidence is for PDD-NOS or some other problem. Is it clear that thimerosal is not the only problem, although it has been the focus of most of the Autism advocacy groups and most scientists and physicians.

The fifth major clue is: paroxysms of violence.
K. was actually suffering from something like minor seizures which would come on suddenly and result in his attacking his mother and others. We see that he would also strike his head. This is never a good sign and it frequently presents in cases of head or brain injury and autism.
In this case, K. suffered short suddenly intense pains in the head which he responded to by pressing or striking his head very hard, hitting his head or doing head stands. So intense was his distress, without any other ability to express his suffering with language, he would strike, pinch, bite, kick and injure others, most commonly his mother. Sometimes these children strike their heads against a wall or floor, or they use their fists or hands to strike their heads.
The striking results from two things: one is that this is a proprioceptive response– similar to when you rub your knee after bumping or injuring it. Secondly, the children are trying to relieve a kind of "stuckness” in their cranium. (The brain will contract in the presence of a vaccine – think of how a slug shrivels when salted. This contraction is painful, and it slows recovery since blood and cerebrospinal fluid circulation to the brain is impaired). By beating their heads, the children are trying to free up their contracted brains.) Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy can often be very helpful to these children as it was to K. Homeopathy proved to be profoundly helpful for K. as well. Cuprum will not be the last remedy K. will need, but he may benefit from it for the foreseeable future. The main clues about the next remedies will again be found in his family history of illness, his desire to swing, jump, swim and play outdoors. Also his fascination in tearing leaves is likely to help us find the next remedy.

My clinical experience in treating hundreds of autistic and other brain injured children has given me an opportunity to identify common features with autistic children, their history, and their prognosis.

In general the children:
1) Are uncommonly beautiful, and have symmetrical faces, frequently with long lashes. They may be quite hairy down the spine.
2) Are usually small in stature, but with a large circumference head.
3) Usually have at least one special talent or ability and also some definite areas of deficient functioning.
4) Usually at least above average intelligence if not gifted.
5) Have their entire physiology impacted – it’s not just social disinterest and speech delay.
6) Benefit greatly from gluten free and casein free diets.
7) Love to eat what aggravates them.
8) Generally don’t absorb nutrients very well and this delays recovery; they are malnourished. It is therefore important to address this in treatment from the beginning. Most biomedical approaches focus on this. (DAN protocol, etc.)
9) Frequently have problems eliminating – gut problems are usually present.
10) Exhibit stimming behavior. Examples of stimming are repetitive arm or hand flapping, spinning, swinging.
11) Feel better from deep pressure. (But simply giving zinc usually yields disappointing results).
12) Find transitions very difficult, moving from one activity or location to another usually leads to an upset.
13) Prefer to be outdoors rather than indoors. Circle time at school is not interesting.
14) Love music and videos. Frequently they can sing before they can talk.
15) Are echolalic at first when speech begins to return. Echolalia is the name for the behavior where the child will repeat only what he has been prompted to say. It’s a good sign, although the parents are frequently upset and frustrated by it.
16) Retain ability to receive language. Expressive language is more the problem.
17) Recover social interest first and this drives their interest to speak.

2. Nutritional facts not included are not a "serious lapse" it was a comment and not the main emphasis of the article.

3. The statement of the slug is just a metaphor to illustrate how the brain can react to vaccination. In my experience the brain usually swells creating pressure and damage to the brain.

4. The author is speaking of children on the "autistic spectrum" not only full blown autism.

5. I do believe this child had an "official diagnosis". Unfortunately the point is moot since diagnosis is only based on clinical evidence. Not only MD's can recognize the state, so can many other trained health care professionals.

Posts: 10

CommentReply #9 on : Mon November 26, 2007, 21:36:12

Dr. Vijendra Singh, who is the Associate Professor of Neuroimmunology at Utah State University, states:
Ã¢â‚¬Å“Approximately 20 years ago, I hypothesized that viruses and other infectious agents may cause a significant number of brain diseases and mental illnesses. Specifically, I tested this theory in autism. Recent immunological studies in my laboratory showed that autism in many cases may result from an Ã¢â‚¬Å“atypical measles infectionÃ¢â‚¬Â that most probably arises from the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) immunization. The measles subunit assaulting the immune system potentially causes an autoimmune reaction in many children with autism. More recently, I found that the vaccine-derived mercury was not related to autoimmunity. To expand my viral-autoimmunity research further, I would like to examine associations if any between viruses/vaccines and antibodies to brain constituents, in particular inflammatory proteins.Ã¢â‚¬Â

comment continued...........

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CommentReply #8 on : Mon November 26, 2007, 21:34:46

To answer Rob by number;

1)Even though your assumption was that John was speaking of thimerosal directly when it comes to "poisoning", there are many other ingredients in the vaccinations that cause harm. One is the viruses themselves.

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CommentReply #7 on : Mon November 26, 2007, 12:42:38

That the audience is homeopaths does not alter the fact that these case notes contain the errors and shortcomings mentioned above. If such case notes are "useful clinically" to homeopaths this makes it important that when such notes are presented to homeopaths they are critically examined and flaws are highlighted, thereby improving the quality of information which practitioners have at their disposal.

Posts: 10

CommentReply #6 on : Sun November 25, 2007, 17:56:38

P.S. Rob is correct about the MMR--it should have been DPT--but the point is that most children's exposure to thimerosal has been reduced and this is what John has observed. John has a great deal of experience with autism-spectrum children and his observations are useful to me clinically as a homeopath.

Posts: 10

CommentReply #5 on : Sun November 25, 2007, 17:54:15

Rob's comments about "errors" miss the point. This article is not written with the intention of proving anything, but rather states the experience of one (very experienced) practitioner. This is Inter*homeopathy*. The audience is homeopaths, not so-called skeptics or even the general public.

Posts: 10

CommentReply #4 on : Sat November 17, 2007, 16:17:49

...(continued)...
[5] Perhaps most fundamentally: the parents complained the child had autism, but no indication is given of whether or when a diagnosis of autism had been made by any physician or neurologist. The only reference to doctors is their involvement during childbirth and immediately afterwards, and the note that the child's doctor wants to dispense 7 unspecified supplements. If no diagnosis of autism had been obtained then it is premature to claim a cure.

...(continued)...
[4] The notes conclude with a 17-point list of what are claimed to be common features of autistic and brain-injured children. Many of these are incorrect. Specifically, points 3&4 appear to be a statement of the popular myth that "autistic savants" are common. Though such exceptionally heightened abilities do sometimes occur in autism they are extremely rare and are certainly not a common feature. Points 1&2 are in common with the observations which start the case note and list physical characteristics such as facial symmetry, eyelash length, a large head and uncommon beauty (however that might be meaningfully measured). Autism presents no such physical symptoms. Point 8 claims that autistic and brain-injured children "don't absorb nutrients very well", but it is not revealed whether the author has made any measurements of nutrient uptake which would be required to validate this claim.

...(continues)...

Posts: 10

CommentReply #2 on : Sat November 17, 2007, 16:12:06

...(continued)...
[2] It is noted that "Now he takes many supplements", but no mention is made of which specific supplements are being taken in what quantity. As nutrition is mentioned several times in the notes as being important to such cases generally and this case specifically (eg "He is absorbing more nutrients from his gut and therefore less malnourished)" it is a serious lapse not to have recorded nutritional details.

[3] It is stated that "The brain will contract in the presence of a vaccine Ã¢â‚¬â€œ think of how a slug shrivels when salted." This statement is simply bizarre, without any foundation in reality.

...(continues)...

Posts: 10

CommentReply #1 on : Sat November 17, 2007, 16:10:45

This and the accompanying case notes "Cuprum, Simple case of Autism" (Interhomeopathy, Jan 2007, same author) contain a number of shortcomings and errors which are presented below.

[1] Injury caused by and the toxicity of vaccines are claimed throughout the notes. But the author writes that "later onset and milder injury have likely arisen because thimerosal has recently been removed from MMR". This is untrue, as the MMR vaccine has never contained thimerosal. Ignorance about the contents of a vaccine mentioned so often in the notes raises serious doubt about how valid the author's other vaccine-related observations and claims - including that he is treating "a case of poisoning" - can be. Before stating "discharge [from both eyes] likely contained toxins from the vaccine" it is surely important to know what toxins the vaccine actually contained, for example.